


Breathe

by nekonexus



Category: Ginyuu Mokushiroku Meine Liebe | Meine Liebe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-27
Updated: 2010-04-27
Packaged: 2017-10-09 05:08:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/83356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekonexus/pseuds/nekonexus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naoji has an unexpected lesson for Ed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> Set during Fall 1935 (first series episode 8). No spoilers for the episode, other than that Naoji and Ed have left Kuchen on a student exchange trip.

In the dark hours of night, when Naoji was finding it difficult to sleep, the quiet of the unfamiliar room was broken by a soft cry from his roommate. He had been aware for some small span of time now that Ed's sleep was uneasy, haunted perhaps by ghosts and fears of the past. Ed had confessed while they were travelling that it had been a long time since he had been so far from home and, more importantly, without Orphe. He had attempted to make the latter an off-handed afterthought, but it had fooled neither of them.

Naoji guessed there was more to it than that, although being separated from his... best friend... would certainly be hard enough, but Ed had been reluctant to speak of the past, preferring to change the topic to something more lighthearted. The past seemed to have caught up with him now, though, laying its heavy hands on his sleeping thoughts.

Slipping out from beneath the covers, Naoji moved across the room to kneel on the rug beside Ed's bed. He considered calling his name, or touching his shoulder, but he was uncertain how Ed would react to being awoken from such a troubled sleep.

A wordless, choked cry escaped Ed, and his eyes snapped open. Jerking halfway upright, he pushed the covers down out of his way, revealing a bare chest damp with sweat. Glancing around the room frantically, it took him several moments to remember where he was, and why. His eyes, still haunted and pained, fell on Naoji, who counted the seconds it took Ed to realize that he was not Orphe.

Letting himself drop flat on his back and turning his face away, Ed took a shaky breath. "Oh, dear God," he gasped. Rolling onto his side, facing Naoji, he curled his arms around his chest. Panic still seemed to have a hold on him as he struggled for air, holding his breath and hyperventilating by turns.

"Breathe," Naoji said gently.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Ed shook his head slightly. "I am breathing!"

Frowning slightly, he reached beneath the covers, sliding a gentle, cautious hand over Ed's stomach. Ed tensed at his touch, opening his eyes again to study his face questioningly.

"From here," he said, moving his fingers slightly. "Make my hand move. Breathe in, push, breathe out, relax."

Ed frowned at him, but tried to take a deeper breath. Small tremors ran beneath his skin as he struggled to turn heaving gasps into a more rhythmic pattern. Pushing down as Ed exhaled, he elicited a soft grunt of surprise.

"All the way out," he murmured. "And all the way in. Deep. Slow."

The raw look of fear and uncertainty slowly faded from Ed's eyes as he concentrated on controlling his breathing. Closing his eyes, Naoji listened to the rhythm of Ed's breath, feeling the tension beneath his hand fading. Ed's body relaxed by degrees, though his hands remained fisted in the blanket for far too long. With a soft sigh, he finally rolled onto his back, letting his hands fall empty.

Opening his eyes again, Naoji watched Ed's expression grow peaceful. Rising up on his knees, he placed his other hand on Ed's chest and began exploring his energy channels. Moving his fingers up to Ed's shoulders to untangle the knots of tension there, he met Ed's suddenly startled gaze calmly.

"Breathe," he said again, before Ed voiced the question that was obvious in his eyes. Gently, he ran his hands up the sides of Ed's neck, into his hair, and back down again. Ed shivered as Naoji traced the flow of energy down his arms and back up again, then down his chest to his abdomen. "Breathe... with your whole body. It is not just for your lungs. Breath is not just air, it is energy, and life. Let it flow into every part of you."

Repeating his earlier motions with strong, sure movements, he did not give Ed the opportunity to argue. Tossing his head back on the pillow, Ed caught his breath in a single ragged gasp before falling back into an almost regular rhythm. Beneath his hands, Ed became pliable, moving a little against the bed as Naoji attuned Ed's awareness to the flow of his own energy. Sliding his hands down to Ed's waist, he paused, feeling the rippling tension pass over his friend's stomach. Frowning ever so slightly, he flung the covers to the foot of the bed, and then ran his hands down over the soft fabric of the pajama pants hiding Ed's legs.

Ed whimpered faintly, shifting his legs slightly, but before Naoji could say anything Ed whispered, "I know... breathe."

And then it became easy to coax his energy into flowing from head to foot, until they both became entirely too aware of other reactions the breathing lesson was causing.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of," he said softly, letting his hands rest lightly on Ed's hipbones. "Every part of your body needs this... needs life, breath, energy."

Ed blinked at him, swallowed hard, and put far too much effort into breathing for a moment. "It... the floor must be cold..." he said finally.

He almost smiled at that. "The bed is rather small."

"I..." Ed shook his head, looking slightly helpless and entirely needy.

Letting his hand slide lightly over Ed's groin, he waited.

A strange, wordless sound escaped Ed as he shifted sideways on the bed, moving towards the wall. Licking his lips, he held back whatever he might have been about to say and met Naoji's gaze again with an intense look. Smiling slightly, he rose from the floor and lay down beside Ed. The narrow bed ensured they were either far too close, or comfortably so, depending on how one chose to look at it.

Drawing a breath that wasn't quite as even as it should have been, Ed closed his eyes. Sliding his hand over Ed's stomach again, Naoji let it linger there, reinforcing his breathing, before moving it down his abdomen. Muscles tightened beneath his touch for a moment and a breath turned into a slight sigh. He might have expected Ed to move impatiently when he carefully avoided his groin and instead traced a line of energy up the inside of his thigh, but his friend remained still, surrendering to his touch. Ed did not protest when he made short work of the buttons on his pajama pants, only breathed out a deliciously shivery sigh.

And then the room was filled with the sound of their breathing, even when they each found release, for they were far from home and could afford to be nothing less than careful and quiet.

There is much that can be said without sound when one remembers how to breathe.


End file.
